Arhat –
enlightened being with Attainment Status in the Buddha School who is beyond
the Triple World but lower than Bodhisattva.

Baihui (buy-hway) point – acupuncture
point located at the crown of one’s head.

Bodhisattva– enlightened being
with Attainment Status in the Buddha School who is higher than Arhat but
lower than Tathagata.

Dafa (dah-fah) – “The Great
Way,” or “The Great Law”; short for the practice’s full name, Falun Dafa,
“The Great (Cultivation) Way of the Law Wheel.”

dan (dahn) – an energy cluster
which forms in the bodies of some cultivators in internal alchemy; in external
alchemy, it is referred to as the “Elixir of Immortality.”

dantian (dahn-tyen) – “field
of dan,” a field located at the lower abdominal area.

Dao (dow) – “the Way” (also spelled
“Tao”).

eight Extra Meridians –
in Chinese Medicine, these are meridians that exist in addition to the
twelve Regular Meridians. Most of the eight Extra intersect with the acupuncture
points of the twelve Regular, so they are not considered independent or
major meridians.

Fa (fah) – “Way,” “Law,” or
“Principles.”

Falun (fah-luhn) – “Law Wheel”
(see color insert).

Falun Dafa (fah-luhn dah-fah) –
“The (Cultivation) Way of the Law Wheel.”

Falun Gong (fah-luhn gong) –
“Law Wheel Qigong.” Both the names Falun Gong and Falun Dafa are used to
describe this practice.

gong (gong) – “cultivation energy.”

karma– a black substance that
results from wrongdoing.

Master –
the Chinese term used here, shifu, is composed of two characters: one meaning
“teacher,” the other “father.”

meridians– the network of energy
channels in one’s body that are thought to be conduits of qi. In Traditional
Chinese Medicine and popular Chinese thought, illness is said to arise
when qi is not flowing properly through these meridians, such as when qi
is congested, blocked, travelling too fast or slow, moving in the wrong
direction, etc.

qi (chee) – in Chinese thought,
this substance/energy is said to assume many forms in the body and the
environment. Usually translated as “vital energy,” qi is thought to determine
a person’s health. “Qi” can also be used in a much broader sense to describe
substances that are invisible and amorphous, such as air, odor, anger,
etc.

qigong (chee-gong) – a general
name for certain practices that cultivate the human body. In recent decades,
qigong exercises have been very popular in China.

samadhi– Buddhist meditation.

Sakyamuni –
Buddha Sakyamuni, or “the Buddha,” Siddhartha Gautama. Popularly known
as the founder of Buddhism, he lived in ancient India around the 5th century
B.C.

Tathagata (tah tah-gah-tah) –
enlightened being with Attainment Status in the Buddha School who is above
the levels of Bodhisattva and Arhat.

Third Eye– sometimes translated
as “the Celestial Eye,” this term (tianmu) is used flexibly and can refer
to the Third Eye system or a particular component of that system, such
as the pineal gland.